The Blessings Of Service

 We recently contacted our home ward back in Calgary to see if it would be possible to have our homecoming talk on the same weekend that our granddaughter, Kyla, will be getting baptized, so as to save our family from having to travel two weekends in a row.  Our  new Bishopric is organized, off and running, at full speed no doubt, and they were happy to put us in the schedule for September 20th,  and have already assigned us a topic to speak on ---- the topic is  "The Blessings of Service".
As I have been pondering about this topic, so many thoughts have flooded into my mind about the  blessings that come into our lives from serving. They are too numerous to list, but here are a few.

Below is a picture of a family that stopped by the Mission Office recently for a visit, as the mom had been a missionary here in the Maritimes about 20 years ago!
You can be sure that these parents interest in and connection with Missionary work is having an effect on their 5 children and they continue to be blessed for their service, years later. We also feel blessed to come from families who have been involved in Missionary work, with both sets of our parents having served missions, plus our children and their spouses having either served missions or are preparing their children to serve when they are old  enough ---

This picture below reminds me of the Sacrifice and Blessings of service ---- our new Mission President and his wife  packed up and said goodbye to their family for three years --- one of their daughters had her first baby the week after they arrived!  It is no small sacrifice for the Pratt's to be here!  

In the centre of this picture are the "Watson's", one of our senior couples who are finishing their mission as the CES couple here, reporting their mission in Saskatchewan, and then returning  to live in PEI. Sister Watson's mother is in a nursing home there and the great Blessing of their service is that they were able to be placed in an area and serve their mission close to her.

I have been reflecting on the personal stories that many of our young missionaries   have shared with us, particularly Elder Waldie, who had only been a member for one year before he decided to go on a mission. His non member parents struggled to understand why he was leaving them, and for two whole years. At the airport as they wept and said good bye to him, his mom kept saying "You don't have to go!!". It was SO hard for him to leave, but with each step he took, the spirit confirmed that he was doing the right thing. So it is with each of us. This week, "Elder" Waldie, who has been home from his mission for about 6 mnths, was sealed in the Temple to his sweetheart!

We continue to meet with and love our good friend, Lesly,(below), who is feeding a duck on her front step in this picture. It has been a real  Blessing in both of our lives to be able to meet people from different backgrounds and religions. We are all better for our association, for coming together and understanding  and talking with each other.

In Between appointments one Saturday, we stopped and watched the boat races on Banook Lake, and had a hot dog --- yummy!

It was a lovely summer afternoon, and we were able to take it in and enjoy the sunshine. 

Meeting these friends has been a real blessing to us here. The Buott's and the Pitt's have opened their homes and their hearts to us and we value their friendship.

Going out for dinner with the Stewart's and the Pratt's once in a while keeps us all young.

Sometimes the girls shop too long, but hey, that is all right. Another blessing of service  as Seniors is  that you find some sweet little shops around to browse through.

  Sleep on Brethren!

Most of all, we feel that our family has been such a blessing in our lives!  They have never held us back from serving a mission, only encouraged us to go, and supported us the whole time. We love them so much and are grateful to them.